Eye to Eye
by psykostevey999
Summary: After some earth shattering news from Haibara Ran is forced to become the master of her own destiny. If she wants to be with Shinichi she'll have to undergo some drastic height alteration. EDITING COMPLETE, ALL TYPOS AND ERRORS MENDED
1. Hollow Victory

_After nearly two years of struggling against the "Black Organization", Kudo __Shinichi_, along with many allies including the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations, Professor Agasa, Osaka detective and friend Hattori Heiji, Hattori Heizo and the Osaka Prefecture Police Department, the Beika Prefecture Police Department, the recently resurfaced Akai Shuichi, former Black Organization members Sherry, or Ai Haibera and Okiya Subaru or Bourbon. With all of there combined efforts and resources the crime syndicate that had plagued Japan and other countries was finally brought down. Despite this incredible victory, this was only the beginning of the struggles Kudo _Shinichi _would face in the near future. 

**~ The Agasa Residence ~**

"Shinichi, you should really go back to the detective agency. Ran has been calling for the past six hours asking me to bring you home. She's worried about you, you should at least drop by to let her know you're alive. After all, your picture was taken at the scene of the Black Organization boss' arrest as Conan and now its all over the news."

It had been four days since the battle with the Black Organization had come to an end. Since then Shinichi had been staying with Professor Agasa to monitor the progress of Haibara's alleged "permanent" cure to the Apotoxin poison. He had resolved to not see Ran again until he could see her as himself and explain everything.

"You know I can't go back there, not like this. Its not right for me to keep lying to her now that the Organization is gone."

"Then tell her." A small but mature voice whispered lightly to his left. It was Haibara who, despite working for days on end to manufacture the desired cure for her poison, had taken few breaks and had almost not slept at all. Her face look worn and dark, and yet she still maintained her vigor.

"Stupid, how can I tell the truth like this! I can't just waltz and announce 'Hey, I'm actually Shinichi, the man you've been crying over for months; the one that has watched you be miserable and yet never said anything.' Besides, I still have something I want to give her that I can't very give her as a nine-year old" He then reached into the bag he had with him and pulled out a small, velvet box with a gold trim around the opening.

"Wait, you mean that night at the restaurant…."

"Yes, I had planned to propose. It was the same place my father proposed to my mother."

"Kudo-kun…." Haibara said to her self in a low enough volume that only she could hear. This hurt her deeply, to see him like this, especially with the news she had to give him. Despite having worked around the clock for days on end, she still had made no progress on the drug. In fact, she had actually made a few discoveries about the drug's affects that may suggest that…. 'No' she thought to herself 'there has to be something I can do. I can't let it end like this.'

Meanwhile, Agasa continued to press the still-shrunken detective to go home.

"You really should relieve her worries. You know the last thing she needs right now is more stress, especially after what happened to Kogoro-san"

During the final standoff between Gin and Shinichi, Heiji, Kogoro and a few F.B.I agents, Gin had taken Kogoro hostage and attempted to use him as a means of escape. Of course, no one even considered that an option, and so one of the agents present fired two rounds into Kogoro's shoulder in order to break him lose from Gin's hold. This strategy worked, however, an artery was nicked in Kogoro's shoulder, causing significant blood loss. He was stabilized at the hospital, but Ran was nonetheless terrified.

"I know I know but I really can't handle seeing her right now, like this. I need to get that cure and I need to talk to as the real me and NEED to do it now!"

He stormed down into the laboratory where Haibara was still working diligently.

"Where is it? It has to be done by now it HAS to be!"

"I'm sorry Kudo-kun, I just need more time. This is more difficult than I had originally planned on it being."

He slumped down into a lab chair near the table she was working at. The look on his face emitted pure despair. Every moment he let Ran sit alone and in agony was another thorn in his side. It hurt him to even think about her, about himself and about them. Haibara, noticing this anguish walked over to him with a grim face

"There's….something you need to know…."

He looked up in anticipation until he noticed her face, and then sank into his despair one again

"What?"

"I…I mean there might…." She was having an immense amount of trouble communicating her thoughts, something very unusual for Haibara

"What? What is it? Tell me!" He screamed in what seemed more like desperation than anything else

"There might not be a cure!"

The room fell silent. Not even Agasa had heard mention this before, which left him as dumbfounded as Conan. He tried to formulate a thought but could do no such thing. He looked down at Conan with wide, sympathetic eyes as he continued to stare at the floor. After a few minutes of this silence she continued

"After thoroughly studying the poison's effect on human DNA, I've found evidence that says beyond a reasonable doubt that the DNA's restructuring has reached a stage where it can no longer be reversed."

Shinichi, with eyes so dark now it seemed almost as though he had been completely enclosed in his own misery, looked up at her and said

"Does that mean even the temporary cures are of no use?"

"No" she said with a little bit of bravado "There is still a window of time you have left to use the temporary cure. However, that window, if I've calculated correctly, is only another 36 hours"

"So I can be myself for a day and a half, and then I become Edogawa Conan permanently?"

"Gomen Kudo-kun"

Once again, silence filled the room. Despite the small ray of hope just presented, the overlying hopelessness of the situation was far too great to overcome. He had just been given the news that everything he had been striving, everything he had worked so hard to attain, was now impossible. He knew right then what had to be done.

"Give it to me"

"What?"

"Give me the damn antidote. I want to spend every second I have left with her."

"Of course. I already prepared it. This one is a higher dosage so it should last the whole 36 hours"

He swallowed the pill and within a few minutes he was himself again. He went over to his house; changed into something more age appropriate and sped off to the place he dreaded the most: the Mouri Detecive Agency.


	2. A Different Meeting

_Kudo Shinichi was currently in a full sprint, making his way to his long time friend Mouri Ran's house to explain all of the happening of the last two years and beg for her forgiveness. He also had a little "present" to give her._

As he arrived at the Mouri Detective Agency and began to ascend the flight of stairs leading to the door, he tried to calm his mind despite the thousands of thoughts and scenarios that swirled around within it. He got to the door and stared blankly at it for a moment. He considered running away, calling her on the phone, or even just standing there a while longer. He did not feel at all prepared for what he was about to face. But, he trudged onward and rang the doorbell. After a moment her heard dainty footsteps and then the outline of the person loved and feared most in that moment: Ran.

She opened the door

"Sh….Shinichi?" she exclaimed in a flurry of emotions. She felt as though she wanted to cry on his shoulder, kick him in the teeth and kiss him on the lips all at the same time. She swung her arms around him and began to spit out every thought in her head simultaneously

"Where have you been? Why haven't you called? I've been worried sick about you!"

"Gomen Ran, about everything…" He looked down at his feet. She knew at that moment, that this meeting would be different then any they'd ever had.

He walked in and sat down on the couch, she sat next from with concerned eyes

"Shinichi, what's wrong? You look upset, do you want some tea or water?"

"Yes, tea would be nice."

As she walked away to prepare the drink, he grimaced at the thought of what he had to tell her. How would he say it? How could he condense all of the things that had happened, all of his motives, his feelings? It seemed like an impossible task. He felt the room closing in around him as his heart started to race. This feeling was usually worrisome because it meant that he would soon be a child again, but today, he would have no luck. They were both there, and it was time to say what needed to be said. As he finished this thought, Ran re-entered the room, looking as kind and loving as ever.

"So how long are you staying this time?"

"Another day and a half or so." He said sharply

"Oh…well that's not so bad. How's your case going?"

"Its over." He said, again using a very stern tone

"So…. so then, why are leaving again?" He could see the tears starting to well up in her eyes. He had come in knowing exactly what he needed to say to her, but now he faltered. How could he cause her even more pain than he already had? It crushed him to think about the tears she would shed on his behalf once he told her the truth. But she had to know.

"Ran, there's something you have to know, in fact, there's a lot you have to know."

She stared at him, puzzled by what he had just said. She had contemplated time and again whether or not he was investigating some big case, and as the months had gone by that excuse had become less believable. She had thought many times about whether he had run off with some girl he met and hadn't had the heart to tell her. 'Or', she thought 'maybe I was right all along. Maybe I wasn't delusional. Maybe he really was…'

As she thought this to herself she failed to notice that Shinichi had begun talking again. When she turned her attention to his words, she heard the truth that she had only thought was teenage paranoia. She heard say the words that she had longed and feared to hear

"Ran, all this time, I've been lying to you. I never left you; I've been here the whole time. I watched you stay awake at night crying for me while I sat in the next room wishing I could ease your pain. Ran, I really am….Edogawa Conan. I had to conceal my identity for your safety because of…."

As he continued to describe in great detail the organization that had drugged him and the reasons he had for lying, she could only watch him. Her mind had completely shut down, lending her only the ability to stare blankly at him as he rambled on about codenames and the FBI. The truth was, none of that mattered at the moment. All the embarrassment, relief and anger that she knew would onset momentarily was held at bay by the overwhelming feeling of….nothing. She could feel nothing, hear nothing, say nothing. She was completely frozen in time as the man she loved, the one she had longed for all the past two years, the one that had broken her heart time and again sat before her pouring his heart out. And then, as she had predicted, all of those emotions came pouring down in an avalanche of pain, aggression, frustration, sorrow, joy, love hate and everything in between.

She burst into tears as she screamed from the top of her lungs

"How could you! How could stay here and enjoy all the luxury of my company while I was forced to live on the hope that you might come back someday!"

To him, this had come completely out of nowhere considering the point in the story he was at. In fact, he had almost forgotten she was there because he had placed all his mental energy into the task of recollecting every detail of the last two years. Her screams broke his trance and once again brought him back down to earth, a place he didn't necessarily want to be.

"Ran…." He whimpered helplessly as she sobbed away all of the emotion within her. He felt powerless to help her considering he was the cause of every tear she shed. Then, after a gradual decline, she finally halted the flow of tears. She gathered herself enough to let out a fragile statement

"I…I thought you cared. I thought you cared about me. I even thought maybe that you…"

Without any warning he thrust forward and took both of her hands in his. This jolted her, but only for a brief moment

"Do you remember that night at the restaurant?"

"Of course" she muttered, curious because of the question's lack of relevance

"I didn't bring you there just to have dinner. I brought you there to ask you something, something very important. That table, at that restaurant, was where my father proposed to my mother"

Ran heard his words, but for some reason, either lack of awareness or the flood of emotion she was still feeling, she could not comprehend its relevance.

"Shinichi, why are you telling me this?"

He looked directly into her eyes. He had noticed many times how beautiful they were. He could never have imagined a more perfect pair of eyes.

"When I brought you there….I was going to ask you to marry me"

As was the norm in this conversation, silence befell the room. She stared at him as intently as he stared at her. Despite all of their hints and signals, and the obvious affection they had for one another, never had his feelings been presented so directly. She had dreamed of his proposal more than a few times and every time it had made her face glow red. This was no exception. As she gazed awestruck at him, not sure of what to say next, she noticed him motion for his coat pocket. 'Is he….' She thought intently 'is he really going to….'. All of her conjectures were stopped when she saw the velvet box he had been concealing.

"This….this was the ring I was going to give you. Now, I can finally ask you…"

Before he could finish he stopped. 'Damn!' he thought angrily to himself 'How could I be so stupid? Of course she can't marry I'm about to become a nine-year old again. How can I expect her to say yes to a marriage proposal when I'll barely be half her age?' Through all of this internal ranting, he had forgotten that Ran still sat there, waiting for the end of his sentence. She had almost died when the reality of his intent came to her. The anticipation was running wild in her mind, nothing of what he had told her previously even registered in her thoughts. Only one word was embedded in the forefront of her mind

'What the hell do I do now?' he pondered vigorously, realizing he only had a few seconds to think. 'Do I just say 'Oh, nothing' and run out the door? Do I return to being Conan and just continue on as we were, calling once in a while to check up knowing full well I'm never coming back?' By now the sweat had pooled at the base of his collar and on his bangs. Finally, he spoke

"Ran….I….I can't do it. I can't do this. I have to go."

As he stood up to leave, she stood to stop him but couldn't find even a fraction of a breath to speak. As he walked out the door she saw something she had never seen on his cheek before; a tear. From behind it was barely visible but it was there, she saw it, and she knew there was more to this than he had told her. She knew that he didn't do all this for nothing. She knew he loved her; and she had to find out what was going on.


	3. That Stupid Pill

_Shortly after Shinichi left her apartment Ran gave the jovial Professor a call to let her know she was coming. She told him she had something she needed to give him. A little white lie just to make sure he wouldn't go and talk to Shinichi about it. She needed to know what was going on, and if what Shinichi had told her was true, then she knew just who to consult. _

**~ Agasa Residence ~ **

"Oh Ran-kun. What was it you needed?"

"I need to talk to Haibara"

"Ai-kun? Well, alright Ai-kun!" He yelled down the stairs where she had been working. She came up the stairs calmly, still looking very tired as she had earlier that day. She had not slept since her conversation with Kudo Shinichi, which was around four hours prior. When she reached the entryway where Ran and Agasa were standing, she looked at Ran perplexed.

"Haibara, I need to talk to you, in private. Hakase could you-"

"I know. I'll leave you two alone." And with that, Agasa left the room and went downstairs to his laboratory. Once he had left, Haibara looked up at Ran and tried to seem childish although she could help but be alarmed by the usually kind hearted and bubbly young woman's serious tone and use of her last name with no honorific

"Ran-neechan, why are you-"

"Shinichi told me everything." Haibara analyzed her face for a second. She seemed distressed, and no doubt it had something to do with Kudo. The fact that they weren't together meant that something had gone wrong. Had the drug failed and returned him to child form sooner than expected?

"So then, why are you here?" Haibara now spoke much more elegantly, as an adult would. With this, any doubt Ran had that Shinichi's story was true, dissolved.

"I need to know what's going on. He came to see me but left with tears in his eyes. What's going on Haibara?" She had to choose her words carefully now. Saying the wrong thing could not only hurt her but ultimately it could hurt him. She looked down at the ground and then back up to Ran

"When I first began researching possible antidotes for the Apotoxin, it seemed very likely that I would be able to find a permanent antidote. It didn't take long to develop the temporary drug, so I assumed the permanent wouldn't take much longer. However, the difference between a temporary cure and a permanent cure is vast, and as time went on I realized that the likelihood of finding a permanent cure was slim. I didn't bring it to Kudo-kun's attention until just a few hours ago, but in approximately 32 hours his genetic structure will solidify and he will be Edogawa Conan, permanently."

Ran listened to her words and absorbed every ramification at once. The life they could have had together, the future they could have shared was now warped and skewed. What could she do? How could she fix this? Was there a anything to be done? After giving her time to digest the information, Haibara continued on

"Despite the physical effects of the drug, Kudo-kun's mind will still be intact. He will be the same person you know him to be, in the body of a primary school student." As she said this, Ran noticed something bulging out of Haibara's lab coat.

"What is that?"

"Oh, its nothing. Just a sample."

"Wait, a sample of what?"

"The original Apotoxin. The one that made Kudo and I what we are now. I always have some for testing purposes." Ran fixed her eyes on the case of pills. 'So this is it?' she thought with a degree of scorn. 'The drug that kept him away from me for so long. The drug that forced him into harm's away on a regular basis and allowed him little peace of mind. How many nights did I cry because of that stupid pill? That stupid pill….' She stopped. Suddenly, an idea came into her mind, one that she had never even considered before now, a solution to this conundrum that faced both her and Shinichi. It would fix everything, it was the only way. She looked fiercely at the little girl, she knew she would never just hand over a drug of that nature. How could she? She knew what it would do and she knew how Shinichi would react. Ran stood firm in conviction, and did what she had to do. At that moment she lunged forward with a forceful fist and struck Haibara straight in the gut. She twitched for a second at most then fell to the ground. She had to act fast before Agasa came in to check on the situation. She plucked one of the pills from the case and, with a look of determination, threw it into her mouth and swallowed.

Her body was suddenly on fire and she could feel her bones melting. Her heart started to beat hard and fast as she fell to her knees. She threw her head up and screamed in agony, then fell on her face as everything went black.


	4. Memories

_After he left the Mouri Detective Agency, Shinichi felt despicable. He could hardly bear his own presence. Every time he reflected on the events that had just transpired he felt like dying. All he could do was go home and rest. He was exhausted mentally and emotionally from the ordeal and simply wanted to forget about everything. As he entered his house he began to ponder all of the great memories he had with Ran._

**~Kudo Residence~**

Shinichi ran his eyes along a shelf that had dozens of pictures framed, and few were without his childhood companion. He felt very nostalgic as he soaked in all of the great experiences they had shared.

"I remember this" he said aloud to himself

"Hakase had just shown us a new invention of his. It was a remote control batter mixer that could be controlled from up to thirty feet away. He dropped the remote though and when he accidentally stepped on it, the mixer turned on full blast and sprayed dough everywhere. Ran and I were covered in it."

He chuckled to himself at the event he had just recalled. Then his eyes passed on to a different picture. This one a picture of them at a school dance back in middle school. Of course they had gone only as friends, despite the rumors that were spread around the school. He thought back to moment that night that made his heart jump.

**~Flashback~**

_A smooth jazz song fills the auditorium, and all the couples begin to pair up and dance slowly._

"Come on Ran, lets go!" He squeezed her hand and pulled off of the seat she had been resting in. When they reached what seemed to be an appropriate spot on the dance floor, he put his arms around waist, and she put hers around his neck.

"This is nice" she muttered softly, almost under her breath

He smiled at her in agreement and continued to sway his body back and forth in unison with hers. She placed her forehead against his shoulder and sighed deeply. They were both growing increasingly comfortably with their position, and he even built up the nerve to take a few stray hairs from her face and tuck them gently behind her ear.

At this, she blushed uncontrollably and pushed her face further into his shoulder to hide her embarrassment. He hugged her waist a little tighter, cutting the space between them to zero. Shinichi had contemplated his feelings for Ran for sometime, but it was at this moment that he knew, with no doubt in his mind, that he wanted to marry this girl someday.

**~End Flashback~**

This memory shot him right back into reality. An unfortunate reality where he had just walked away from the thing he had wanted for so many years. He continued to look sorrowfully at the picture, with thoughts not of nostalgia, but of remorse and regret.

He walked up to his room, still holding the picture in his hand. He threw off his clothes and laid on his bed clad in nothing but some shorts he had found to sleep in. He pressed the picture to his chest and felt the cold glass of the frame conflict with the warmth of his body; it relaxed him. As he stared at the ceiling, he tried hard not to think of anything. He knew that if any thought crossed his mind it lead back to Ran and hurt him more. So he laid there and thought of nothing. He merely observed the movement of the shadows on the ceiling and the wall as cars passed by his house. But of course, that didn't clear his racing mind either because no matter shape formulated on the wall, it looked like her.

He slammed his head into his pillow and tried hard to sleep. He tossed from side to side in mental anguish as the unwanted thought continued to invade is worn mind. He contemplated taking a shower to ease his nerves but eventually chose instead to get a cold glass of water. He walked downstairs to the kitchen, filled his glass and took a sip. He felt, as expected, no better. He bent over the sink and splashed some cold water on his face.

As he dried his face he heard a scream from the next house over. He jumped to attention, racing to the window to see what had happened. It was Agasa's house, but there no stirring in the house at all and only two lights were on. "But…." He thought "I know that voice, that's….."

With no further need for contemplation he quickly threw on a shirt and ran toward the house as fast as he could. But with nothing to go on, he had no idea what to expect. He could only hope the worst hadn't happened.


	5. It Wasn't Just For You

_Professor Agasa had been asleep at his work desk until he heard a scream come from the room where the two girls had been talking. After being harshly thrust back into consciousness, he stood up and made his way to the front of the house. By the time he got there, Shinichi had already arrived and was kneeling beside a very young girl laying face down next to an unconscious Haibara._

"Shinichi!" the now startled Professor exclaimed "What happened?"

"I have no clue. I ran over here as fast as I could when I heard the scream. When I got here these two were lying just as they are now. But….but I could have sworn the scream I heard was Ran"

"It might have been, considering she was here not ten minutes ago. She asked to talk to Haibara, so I left them alone to talk. I went down to the lab and fell asleep."

"So Ran is here?"

"Possibly, or she may have already headed back home" As Shinichi gazed down at the young girl he couldn't help but notice the jacket draped over her was very familiar. Before moving the passed out young girl he picked up the sweater and held it up in front of him 'I know this jacket' he thought without any sort of doubt. He hastily began to search the floor around the two girls until he came across a metal container that looked somewhat like a cigarette case. When he opened it his heart palpitated 'there's one missing...'

Agasa was confused by Shinichi's demeanor and actions and tapped him on the shoulder to gain his attention

"Huh?" he mumbled as he swung his head up to look at the Professor

"What are you thinking Shinichi?" Shinichi shook his but could not rid himself of the worried expression that played across his face

"Nothing, nothing. Go and get a wet rag while I move these two into the living room" Agasa complied and went to the kitchen. When he returned he walked over to Haibara first and dripped some cold water onto her face, which, after a few seconds woke her up. She blinked heavily a few times before trying to get up. When she did begin to rise she felt a sharp pain in her torso, and that's when she remember everything that had happened.

"Where is she?" she screamed forcefully at the two men that had crowded her

"Who Ran?" Shinichi responded quickly with concern

"We have to find her she ma-" and then she noticed the small figure that lay to her side. It was that of a young girl, no older than herself. That's when it hit her. Everything came to her in a flash and she knew what had happened. She knew why Ran had hit her and why she had that look in her eye when she told her the pills in her pocket were Apotoxin. She jumped up off the couch she was lying on, ignoring any physical pain she may have been suffering from, and leapt over to the young girl.

"Kudo-kun, help me flip her over" he hesitated for a moment, and then complied. When the girl's face was revealed, it was covered in hair that had been stuck there by profuse amounts of sweat. He pushed the hair out of her face and then fell backwards in astonishment. His eyes grew large and his heart pounded with power and frequency. He breathed heavily and began to shake uncontrollably. He looked over to Haibara and found in her eyes, the recognition that he so desperately wanted to be absent. He thought back to the picture he had studies just minutes ago, of he and his childhood friend. The face of the girl in that picture had come to life and faced him now.

**~Two Hours Later~**

"I don't understand Haibera, why hasn't she come to yet?"

"Kudo-kun, you must understand, everyone handles the drug differently. The fact is because of the emotion state she was and her increased heart rate, the drug hit her system much quicker than it hit ours, which may have left her body in shock"

The three of them had been sitting in a circle talking and monitoring the young girl for nearly two hours.

"How could she do this to herself?" Shinichi roared, now completely enraged in a way neither of the other two had seen before "Doesn't she realize how much pain it's caused me? How could she do something so reckless? She needs to wake up I HAVE to talk to her NOW!"

"Shinichi, you need to calm down. The last thing Ran-kun will upon her awakening is you screaming at her." Shinichi acknowledged Agasa's mature judgement and re-seated himself next to him. He held his face in his hands and clenched his eyes, praying that this was some demented nightmare. Just then his prayers were interrupted by a stirring on the floor. All three of them looked down in concern as the little young rubbed her eyes and looked around. Her eyes eventually landed on Shinichi, who was on the verge of tears. She stood up and said lightly

"I'm so gl-" At that moment she noticed her voice. The voice she had before she blacked out had disappeared and been replaced by a much higher, much more childish one. She then proceeded to look down at her hands, which were half the size they used to be at best. She noticed a mirror in the corner of the living room and walked over to it. As she stared at her reflection, she didn't know whether to scream and faint or jump for joy. Her plan had worked, but, now what?

Shinichi stared at her in utter amazement. He hadn't so much as a shred of a word to say to her. The girl that had waited for him for so long while he remained a child now stood before him, a child herself. He turned to Haibara and whispered in her ear

"What did you tell her?"

"Everything," She said dryly "which might have been the biggest mistake I'll ever make".

They all continued to look on in astonishment as the now miniature Ran analyzed herself in the mirror. Then in an effort to break the tension, Haibara hopped off the couch and walked over beside her

"I guess" she mumbled painfully "this is what you wanted".

"Its ironic" Ran started "for the first time in months Shinchi and I are together and….and all of this happens"

Haibara stood there in pure shock that of all things to say, the first words out of her mouth are those.

"But," Ran continued "my hope is that with this change we'll be together a lot more often now."

She blushed a little and then went back to scaling her own body. Meanwhile, Shinichi had been concentrating hard on them in order to hear what they were saying. When he heard it, he almost dove at her and slapped in the face. 'How could you?' he thought viciously to himself 'How could you do this to yourself for me? You could've been happy with someone else and I would've been by your side, even if I was a child. You didn't have to do this!'

Haibara walked in a deliberate fashion over to the Professor, who still couldn't quite grasp what had just happened. She grabbed him by the hand, and led him out of the room. Once they had left, only Ran and Shinichi remained. Ran had now turned to face him, and he still had the same dumbfounded expression on his face that had been there since she first stood up. They locked eyes, and for the first time in their lives, he cried and she comforted him.

"Its okay" she whispered lightly in his ear "This will make everything better for us won't it?"

He clenched his fists and muttered brusquely

"I'm supposed to be the one that makes the sacrifices. You're supposed to be happy at my expense. And yet…all this time you've been the one to hurt, you've been the one to cry and you've been the one to sacrifice."

She gazed on his broken face softly "Shinichi, this wasn't just for you"

His eyes met her with a look of bewilderment

"The truth is, I did this because I wanted to be with you. When Ai-chan told me you would be a child permanently, I thought about all the time I had spent crying in my room, waiting for the day when you would come back to me. I was not going to that be taken away from me. I wasn't going to let you be taken away from me"

His tears now dry, he stared deeply into her eyes. All the sincerity and love he saw in them comforted him. He hadn't even considered it up to that point, but maybe this was a good thing. As he pondered the concept, she reached up and squeezed him around the torso as hard as her young arms could. He fell to his knees and returned her embrace, and they both enjoyed the moment of peace that they had been waiting for. They released one another, and, with a smirk on his face he said

"So does this mean..." he trailed off, yearning for the words she had told him many times before while he was under the guise of Conan

"I love you, Shinichi" his face erupted in an uncontrollable smile and he fell to his knees in front of her. Before she could react he wrapped his now over-sized arms around her and squeezed with uninhibited force

"And I love you, Ran" Together they shared this intimate moment for a lapse of time neither of them felt any need to calculate. When they finally separated Shinichi shot her an amused grin

"What are we supposed to tell your parents?"


	6. How Could We Forget Kogoro?

_Shortly after their talk, they fell asleep on the couch, her head leaning against the side of his arm while he leaned against the arm of the couch. The next morning, they awoke to find that they were now lying right next to one another with her head snuggly tucked under his chin and his arm wrapped around her torso. He was a child once again, and for the first time ever, he felt better that way._

"Well, we're kids. Now what?"

The two shrunken teenagers stared at each other with an open sense of ignorance. They had woken up before either of the other two patrons of the house, so they had time to plan out their next moves. Shinichi was the first to make a suggestion

"Should we just live here with Hakase and Haibara? I mean they're both aware of our situation so we could avoid having to tip toe around and keep secrets."

"That's true I guess" she responded "but its not like I can tell my parents I left on a 'big case' or something" she glared as he backed up defensively

"How many times do I have to apologize for that?"

"Two years worth!" she screamed. They giggled at the little spat they had then continued to ponder.

"We could tell your parents up front and go live at the Detective Agency"

"That's a great idea! Maybe having two children around will make my mom want to move back in!" 'Doubtful' Shinichi thought to himself 'considering that if we tell her the truth she'll know we're just shrunken teenagers'.

"But wait" he interjected, stopping Ran in the middle of a very sappy love rant about her parents "How are we going to notify the school? 'Sorry but Kudo Shinichi and Mouri Ran moved away' I mean I'm surprised they haven't caught on to me yet"

"True. And it will be especially suspicious if we disappear at the same time"

They sat and considered these new arguments they had just presented to themselves

"Ran"

"Yes" she said, puzzled by the suddenly serious inflection in his voice

"What if we moved to America and lived with my parents. Think about it, we could keep our names, we wouldn't have to assume new identities and we could have a fresh start"

Ran stared at him, trying to analyze the sincerity in his proposition. When she concluded that he was completely serious she seemed distraught.

"You mean you want me to leave my friends, my parents, everyone? How could ask me to do that?"

"Ran, I know it sounds bad, but just think about it. How are we supposed to fit in? It's not like I want to pick up and leave everyone I know either, bu-" she cut him off abruptly

"That's easy for you to say, you've been a child for a couple years now, you've had to forget most of your old friends anyway and I'm the one who has to leave home. I don't even know if I'm ready to leave my parents yet!"

It was easy to see the distress in her face and hear the pain in her voice. It hadn't occurred to him that she was that deeply rooted here. It shouldn't have come to a shock to him though; I mean after all, her friends and family were the ones that comforted her through the last two years so the bonds she had with them ran deep.

"I'm sorry" he whispered "I just didn't think you would want to be surrounded by all of the memories knowing that we have to start over from childhood"

"You're right" she said suddenly "It is best if we leave"

He stood in front of her thoroughly shocked by her response. She had seemed so dead set on not leaving and yet now, here she was, confirming her willingness to go.

"We don't have to go you know? It's no big deal if we just stay here. I'm sure if we give you a new name we cou-"

"Stop it, Shinichi" her sudden interjection brought his line of thought to a halt "I've made up my mind. America is the best place for us. Besides, I will miss my friends, but as long as you're with me I'll never be lonely"

At this he blushed fiery red and she kissed him lightly on the cheek. They smiled at one another genially and made their way up the stairs to wake the Professor up and inform him of their decision.

**~One Hour Later~**

_After explaining their decision and reasoning to both Hakase and Haibara, they agreed and said that they would do whatever they could to help. After that, they called Ran's mother Eri and, using the voice-changing bowtie to emulate her older voice, instructed her to come to the Detective Agency in one hour for something very important. She reluctantly agreed,, and so Ran, Shinichi and Agasa made their way to the Detective Agency._

**~Mouri Detective Agency~**

"Oi Conan, where's Ran?"

'Damnit' Shinichi thought to himself, undoubtedly consistent with Ran's sentiments. 'How could we have forgotten to tell Kogoro?' They both stood frozen in the doorway, as Kogoro scanned the young girl accompanying his home's 'moocher'.

"Uh….she said she was staying at Sonoko-neechan's house last night so she'll probably be home later" He smiled innocently at the currently hung over detective

"Hmm, and who's this girl with you? She's not the little girl that usually comes here with your friends. And why aren't you wearing your glasses?"

'Your daughter' he thought and then snickered to himself

"This is my friend from school. We just met, and she wanted to see my Kamen Yaiba collection. We're gonna go to my room now" without so much as a verification of approval or any acknowledgement of his other question they bolted across the floor as fast as possible and leapt through the door, shutting it behind them.

"That was way too close" he said sharply between gasps of air "I keep my identity for two years and you raise eyebrows your first step in the door"

"Shut up!" she yelled, trying to seem victimized "I still don't understand how we both completely ignored the fact that my dad was here"

"It's okay, we need to tell him everything as well. When your mom gets here we'll tell them both, together." After that they sat calmly against the bed and, for the first time in a long time, they talked. They had spoken to one another in the last two years but they hadn't really talked like they were now. They simply went on exchanging anecdotes about friends and school and such. There were no tears, no pain and definitely no lies. It was truly refreshing for them both despite how brief it was. It felt as if hardly any time had passed before they heard the doorbell.

They stepped out of Conan's room and into the living room to greet her mother. When Kogoro opened the door he seemed puzzled to say the least

"What are you doing here Eri?" he asked shrewdly

"Ran asked me to come by for something important, so here I am now where is she?"

"She hasn't come yet she's was at Sono-" he was cut off by a familiar voice that pierced his ears. Almost simultaneously they both spun around to face what had produced that noise.

"Ha, I'm going crazy, I could have sworn I heard Ran's voice" Eri stated plainly

"I could have sworn that was her, I would never mistake my daughter's voice!" Kogoro yelled confidently as he scanned around the room.

His eyes fell the young girl that had entered the apartment a mere twenty minutes earlier. She was holding a bowtie up to her mouth. She looked at both of them confidently and said

"Hi mom, hi dad"


	7. The NotSoGreat Detective, Mouri Kogoro

**~Mouri Detective Agency~**

The two parents stared at the young girl in equal shock at the words she had just spoken and the voice with which she had spoken them. The girl smiled at them, still holding the bowtie up to her mouth.

"How di-"

"Professor Agasa" Shinichi interjected "its an invention of his. It's a bowtie that allows the user to mask their voice and speak at any pitch or frequency. Its come in handy over the last two years." He smiled at them while they tried to piece together what had just happened.

"Who are you two?" Eri asked eerily, sounding almost afraid of the impending response

"That's Conan and his friend from school" Kogoro declared half-heartedly "But what's this about a voice-changing bowtie?" He stared at what he thought was a nine-year old boy, waiting for an answer. Finally Eri broke the silence

"Wait" she uttered curiously "you two look exactly like…." She hesitated then pulled out her purse. She scrolled through the pictures she kept in her wallet until she finally found what she had sought after. She held up the picture and compared it to the two children before her

"Kogoro!" He jumped at the shrill way she screamed his name

"Huh?" he responded blankly

"Come look at this" So he walked around from behind his desk, seeming agitated at the thought standing beside his wife.

"What?" he said shrewdly

"Look." After a moment of comparison, a look of utter astonishment came over his face. He looked as if he could have passed out, but then his wife whispered

"They're exactly the same aren't they?" They both pressed their faces together and analyzed the picture once again, this time checking for the most minute details.

"But…but that's impossible. They're identical. Completely identical." They both looked up from the picture and stared inquisitively and the two young faces

"Who are you? And why do you look so similar to my daughter and her friend?" Eri had now taken a much graver tone. She appeared ready to apprehend the two kids she thought to be imposters or pranksters.

"Answer me!" The two children looked at one another and then back to her.

"Okasan?" Eri stood dumbfounded at the use of that word again "Do you remember about a year ago when I came by your office to remind you that it was the anniversary of your first date with Dad, and I found your wedding ring in that vase full of paper balls and I thought you were hiding it. Then I found that picture of you and another man and I jumped to the conclusion that you were having an affair, but it was actually just a misunderstanding and you had gone to see a specialist for your cat?"

"What's this?" Kogoro roared in jealousy

Now Eri was in a state of pure terror. 'How could she know that' she thought to herself. 'How could she possibly have that kind of information about my life? And in such great detail?'

"Have you been spying on me?" she screamed threateningly at her. Just then she realized who she was screaming at: a little girl who looked exactly like her…

"No" she whispered helplessly to herself "it can't b-" before she could finish, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed on the floor. Kogoro picked her up promptly and carried her to the couch. He looked back at the two kids, who had run to her aid.

"Okasan!" the little girl screamed as she shook Eri at the shoulders, hoping to jar her back to consciousness. Meanwhile the young boy had gone to grab a wet rag. He returned with it and handed it to the girl. "I'm sorry okasan, I'm so sorry. Shinichi this is your fault!"

"My fault?" the now puzzled child responded "How is it my fault?"

"Because YOU were the one that said we should play it cool and let them figure it out. Now _she_ is unconscious and _he_ is….having a heart attack" Her voice softened as she set her eyes on her father, who instinctively had wrapped his hand around Eri's and now sat mere inches away from her waiting eagerly for her to regain consciousness. For the first time in many years, her father was genuinely worried about his wife and went to no measures to hide it.

"Otosan" she paused and waited for him to acknowledge her "Otosan". Her voice wad grown louder now, demanding his attention. Finally in a bold and uncharacteristic fashion screamed "Otosan look at me!" Kogoro slowly turned his head, and saw the faint signs of tears in her eyes.

"Otosan….you haven't held okasan like that in so long." The room fell silent as he looked at the girl in disbelief. 'How would she know?' he continued to wonder 'How could she possibly know about my wife and I unless…' He took a deep breath and locked eyes with the young girl. The truth was there and it was undeniable.

"Ran…." He muttered, still not completely confident in his words "is….is that really you?" Instantly she jumped into his arms and he caught and held her.

"How did this happen to you? Who did this?"

"It's a long story and I think it's better if he tells you" she motioned over to the boy accompanying her, who aside from the lack of glasses and different clothes looked exactly like Conan.

"Are you…." He faltered in his accusation before finally continuing "Kudo?"

"Yes. I'm the high school detective, Kudo Shinichi!"

_Once pleasantries were aside Kogoro insisted on hearing every last detail of the story that had changed both his daughter and her friend into children. As he heard the story of how he had been used all this time by Kudo to solve cases, and why he could never remember any of them, he couldn't help but feel ashamed for all of the glory he had enjoyed. When the story reached its end and he had heard all the details of his daughter's transformation, he felt a sudden urge to pin the little runt down and beat him senseless. But he instead turned his focus back to his wife who had, without their knowing, come to halfway through the story. Now the room fell silent once again and they all stared at one another clueless as to where they would go from there._

"So all this time" Eri said softly "that little kid I thought was just helping out turned out to be the mastermind behind all of your magnificent deductions. How do you feel about that tantei-San?" She looked over at Kogoro connivingly, twisting the dagger that had already burst his ego.

"I think its time I go back to the force" he muttered in a defeated tone. Just when he thought he couldn't feel any lower, his wife wrapped her arms around him and said

"And I think it's about time I move back in" Kogoro sat mystified at what Eri had just said. He knew despite his fronts, this is what he had wanted for some time. He nodded at her in joyful approval and he turned to embrace her fully when they were suddenly interrupted

"There's something else you need to know" Ran said to them in a low and almost mournful voice "we've decided to move to America with Shinichi's parents"

Her parents stared at her in frustration and began to yell various overlapping objections at her

"You mean to tell me after all this, you're going to leave? You can't! How are we supposed to let you leave the country in the state you're in! Its not even an option! No! No! NO!" Ran and Shinichi looked on as her parents lost there minds, not in any degree of shock, mind you, they had seen this coming.

"Calm down please. Look its better if we go somewhere where we won't be recognized. Besides, we would still visit and call." Her parents, now in a more tame state, considered what their daughter said and, with heavy hearts consented.


	8. In the Slightest

_That night the four of them enjoyed each other's company, along with a meal prepared by Eri, with Ran's help (to the delight of Shinichi and Kogoro). After the meal they sat around and reminisced about the past and eagerly looked ahead to the future. They all had something to look forward to, namely the newly reformed couple. Before bed however, Shinichi noticed Ran had become very quiet and so he resolved to go see her after the parents had gone to sleep._

The door to Ran's room creaked open as a certain little boy poked his head in

"Ran" he whispered cautiously "are you awake still?"

"mhm" she replied lightly. He then crept into her room and stood beside her bed.

"What's wrong? You've been so quiet ever since dinner" She turned toward him and they locked eyes.

"Its just…ever since I became…like this, you haven't looked at me the same" Shinichi seemed taken back at first be this comment

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when we talked last night and you told me…all those things you looked at me differently. Like a woman…like a woman you loved." Again, her reply shook him to his core. 'How could she say that? I haven't stopped thinking about her for two days now'. He searched his thoughts for the right thing to say. Once he had taken an appropriate amount of time to formulate his response he opened his mouth to speak but was cut off of by the now quivering voice of the young girl before him

"I did this so we could…be together. I wanted us to be together no matter what so I took that drug and became little like you. But now it seems like-" He pushed his index fingers onto her lips

"Don't say anymore. Don't talk like that anymore. I will never take for granted what you sacrificed for me. When I found out you'd done this, I was angry, yet relieved. I knew there was nothing to keep us apart, no reason for us to separate ever again." They shared a moment of peace then, out of her tiny mouth came the words he had heard many times over in his head, and even from her mouth, but never with as much sincerity and ardor as this

"I love you, Shinichi". His heart flew and with no hesitation he replied

"I love you too, Ran". He climbed up onto her bed and they curled up next to one another, his head on her shoulder and his arms encircling her torso. They may have been small, but their feelings for one another hadn't diminished in the slightest.


	9. Goodbye, Sonoko

_The next morning Ran and Shinichi were awakened by Kogoro, who, upon seeing them sleeping together had begun screaming at the top of his lungs, despite his wife trying to pull him out of the room. When they emerged from the bedroom, they felt a sense of accomplishment in reference to the previous night, however they also felt the ever-growing presence of foreboding as they looked ahead to the tasks of the day. Shinichi knew this day would be hard for Ran; today was when they had to start saying goodbye._

Shinichi hung up the phone. He had arranged for Agasa to pick them up from the Mouri Detective Agency. He walked up behind Ran, who had taken a place in the middle of the living room. She had been standing there for almost thirty minutes, taking in all the aesthetic around her. She knew this would be the last time she would see this place for a while.

"Are you okay?" Shinichi asked gently, making no physical contact so as not to startle her.

"Yes." She seemed very distant in her reply.

"If you're not ready, we can stay longer it's okay" She turned to face him, taking on a more confident disposition

"I'm fine, really. I'm ready." As she said this, they both heard the sound of Agasa's Volkswagen pull up in front of the apartment. She turned to her parents and gave them each a long embrace.

"I'll miss you, and I promise I'll call as soon as we land in the U.S" they both smiled and nodded, and with that they exited. As they reached the car, Ran turned around to look at the apartment one last time.

"I promise" Shinichi said softly in her ear "this will all be fine. We'll be fine, have faith in me "after that they entered the car and drove away.

As they continued to drive, Ran turned to Shinichi who had taken a seat beside her in the back of the car and muttered inquisitively

"Where exactly are we going Shinichi?"

"Well, I still have to call and confirm all of our plans with my parents. I have no doubt they will be fully supportive, but nonetheless I need to bring them up to speed. So I was thinking while I took care of that maybe you could…" he trailed off as the car stopped and out her window she saw a huge mansion. This was a place she had been many times and knew all too well.

"I was thinking you could go talk to Sonoko. I have no interest in saying goodbye to her, but I know she means a lot to you. So you go talk to her and Agasa and I will go to a restaurant or something and wait until you're ready to leave" She leapt over to the seat next to her and swung her arms around the pint size detective

"Thank you so much, this means the world to me" With that she exited the car and made her way toward the door. The old beetle sped off and she was left there to wait for the butler to come answer the door. After just a few seconds of waiting the door swung open

"Hello young miss, who may I fetch for you?"

"Um.." She said nervously. For a moment she had forgotten her size and age. She had also forgotten that no one would recognize her like this. "I'm here to see Sonoko, is she here?"

"Yes of course, let me take you to her quarters." As they entered the house and the butler walked off to find her friend, she took a moment to acknowledge the grandness of the room she was in. Being smaller, she couldn't help but realize how much larger the world seemed, and this house was a shining example of that. As she looked around, her eyes fell on Sonoko who was jogging merrily down the stairs toward the room.'How am I supposed to tell her?' she thought 'How do I tell her that I am a teenager that was transformed back into an eight year old? Maybe I should've done this over the phone'

"Aww how cute" Sonoko screeched in her usually piercing voice "you look like a little Ran!" 'Oh' she thought 'well at least she remembers what I looked like. Maybe this won't be so bad'

"Now, what do you want ya little runt?" 'Or, maybe not'

"umm…"she hesitated. The weight of the situation had further dawned on her. She questioned whether or not she could even get a word to come out. Her chest felt tight and her heart beat very fast."I am…well I mean I…uh…."

"Look spit it out already!"

"Sonoko, your hair! What did you do?" Sonoko jumped back a little in confusion and frustration

"What is THAT supposed to mean? I happen to like the way my hair looks. But how would even know I changed it? Who are you huh?"

"I told you not to change it because it looked fine the way it was!" Sonoko drew back once again, but this time her demeanor was more startled than anything. She thought back to a sleepover she had with her best friend not long ago

**~Flashback~**

"Ran Ran! What do you think of this?" She pointed down to a picture in a fashion magazine. It depicted a young, overly slender Caucasian woman with blonde hair comparable to only the brightness of a high frequency light bulb. It was done up in a large, complicated bun with pins stuck through it to keep it in place.

"What do you think? I could do this to my hair! Then I could send the pictures to Makoto-san and having him begging to see me!" Ran looked at her with an aggravated expression.

"No way! Why would you change your hair just to make him want to see you more? He should want to see you regardless, and besides, that hair style would look ridiculous on you."Sonoko now seemed more serious than before as she grimaced and said

"Jeez why do you always do that? Every time I want to get a makeover, or do my hair or anything like that you always say that I shouldn't because he should want to see without doing anything special to myself. Why should I sit around here and wait for him and do nothing?" Ran looked down at her feet and then back up at Sonoko, whose face was still fiery with rage.

"Because you're better than that" Her voice was soft and direct, which caught Sonoko's attention instantly. "and you're beautiful the way you were." Ran smiled as she said this, which brought Sonoko to tears. She hugged her and they sat quietly for a few minutes before moving on with their night.

**~End Flashback~**

After recollecting this, Sonoko could not help but stare at the little girl in astonishment. It was only after recalling that incident that she further examined her guest. She noticed all the little details of her aesthetic: her eyes, her hair, her posture. She even took time to watch the way she looked down at her clasped hands due to her growing anxiety. With all of these things in mind, it became clear; this child didn't look like Ran, this WAS Ran.

"Who are you?" Sonoko now trembled, fearing the answer that she already knew to be true.

"Sonoko I…it's me, it's-" Before she could finish she was wrapped up in the arms of her friend, who had accepted the reality of a situation she had yet comprehend

"How did this happen to you? I mean, WHAT exactly happened to you?"

_Ran then proceeded to explain all the events that had transpired the last few days. Sonoko listened with open ears to the tale of spies, gunfights, true love and sacrifice. Ran hadn't realized until this point that the story she was currently wrapped up in really was quite an adventure. After she had finished, Sonoko hugged her again and the two friends went on talking about everything from Sonoko's love life, to Ran and Shinichi finally admitting to one another what everyone else had known for a while and eventually they arrived on the topic of the sites to see in America when Ran's phone rang…_

"Hai"

"Oi Ran, do you plan on talking to her ALL day? I know I said to take all the time you need but it's been nearly six hours and Hakase and I are starving!"

"Sorry, I'm ready to go"

"Ok, we'll be there in a few minutes" After Shinichi hung up she looked over at Sonoko who had turned to the mirror on the wall to admire her new hair. She turned back to Ran, noticing her call had ended

"So, is it time for you to leave?"

"Yes" Ran mumbled, almost ashamed for having to leave so abruptly

"Ran, I'm glad you came here today. I would have been heart broken if you hadn't come to say goodbye. Then I wouldn't have been able to thank you"

"Thank me?" she looked at her friend puzzled by her last comment "For what?"

"It's because of you that I am who I am today. You were always there to make sure I wasn't spoiled or snobby toward anyone. You always reminded me to be kind to people and have faith in them, even when they didn't deserve it. You've been my best friend for so long, and you will continue to be, even if you are off in America" with this Ran began to feel tears form in her eyes. She smiled, even as the tears began to fall swiftly down her cheeks

"Sonoko…"

"Besides" Sonoko said confidently "its not like I'll never see you again. Our family has two vacation houses in the United States. I'll come visit you whenever we go out there on vacation!" They both smiled at the thought of their next meeting. When Ran heard the buggy pull up in front of the house, she squeezed her friend one last time and walked out the door, into the car.

As they drove away, she sat smiling at the recollection of the past few hours and the prospect of seeing her again

"Ran" Shinichi said with a smile "Where do you want to eat?" At this Ran's face turned a dark red and her eyes were enflamed by rage

"You're not even going to ASK how my day was? All you care about is your stomach!" Shinichi grimaced and turned to the opposite window

"You would care about YOUR stomach too if you had to wait for six hours in a car without eating" he huffed angrily under his breath. Agasa chuckled heartily at the sight of Shinichi's frustration, despite his shared opinion.


	10. Less Time and Energy

_That night, Ran, Shinichi stayed at Professor Agasa's house. They ate and talked for many hours before eventually falling asleep on the couch. The next morning, they said their goodbyes to Haibara and made their way to the airport. They weren't quite ready to leave Japan; they still had two more people to see._

As they exited the plane, Agasa and Shinichi took up conversation about a new invention he was developing while Ran scanned the lobby diligently, waiting for their friends to arrive. They had waited at the terminal nearly thirty minutes when the Great Detective of the West came running in gasping for air

"Gomen" he put his hands on his knees and bent over to catch his breathe "Gomen for being late, SOMEONE had to get ready for almost an hour!" As he said this, an equally breathless Kazuha appeared from around the corner. She looked at the group puzzled

"Where's Ran-chan?" as she asked this it dawned on them that, once again, they had forgotten someone

"You didn't tell them when we made the plans to come here?" Ran scolded

"It completely slipped my mind"

"Oi, Ku.- I mean Conan" Heiji hesitated for a second until he noticed a lack of irritation in Shinichi's face

"Relax" Shinichi said dryly "she already knows. I told her everything"

"Finally" Kazuha sighed "I didn't know how much longer I could have kept that act up"

"You told her!" the irritation that was absent in Shinichi's voice previously was now fully noticeable "How long has SHE known?"

"Uh…maybe a month or two"

"A month or two? You must be joking! Was it really that hard to keep it to yourself!" his eyebrow twitched in anger as he turned away from Heiji in resentment

"Come on Kudo, she was persistent. And besides, once we started…you know"

"Dating?" Kazuha interjected "you mean dating?"

"Uh yeah" Heiji laughed half-heartedly

"Yeah, thanks to ME!" Shinichi snapped

**~Flashback~**

_After being put on the spot thanks to a secret whispered into Kazuha's ear by Conan, Heiji was forced to finally verbalize the feelings he had hidden for some time. When he asked her what it was that Conan had whispered in her ear, she responded_

"Nothing. He just told me to look surprised and then make up something romantic and say it to him. Apparently he was mad about how you were bossing him around so he wanted to get you back. I guess it kind of back fired on him huh?"

**~End Flashback~**

"Oh yeah" Heiji replied

"How could have already forgotten, it was only a few months ago? Whatever, that doesn't matter let's just go back to your house"

"Wait" Kazuha interrupted inquisitively "aren't you going to tell us who your friend is?"

"Actually, that's-"

"I'll tell them" Ran took a deep breath and looked up at Kazuha "I took a dose of the drug that made Shinichi small, so, here I am" they both stood in confusion as they analyzed the tiny body

"R…Ran-chan?" Kazuha muttered with little confidence

"Mhm" Ran nodded

"What the heck happened?" Heiji said bluntly which quickly aggravated his girlfriend

"Would you shut up Aho!" Heiji acknowledged her request and grumbled to himself quietly before turning away. Ran explained what had happened as they walked out to their car and continued to explain throughout the car ride. This explanation took much less time and energy than the others considering that both Kazuha and Heiji were already aware of the drug and Shinichi's situation.

When they reached the front step of Heiji's house Ran had finished her very detailed regalement and had since begun talking to Kazuha exclusively.

"Oi you two" he glared over at them with a degree of intolerance "You two can stay at Kazuha's tonight. We should start walking over there now so we can back here before dark." They shrugged in agreement and they all proceeded to the Toyama residence. When they got there, they waved goodbye to the two girls and Kazuha gave Heiji a kiss on the cheek for the sole purpose of embarrassing him. When the door had closed, they began to walk back toward the Hattori's. The three enjoyed the silence of night greatly because it was the first silence of the last hour.

"Those two really know how to talk" Heiji stated plainly much to the amusement of everyone present. Just as they stopped laughing, Heiji's phone rang

"Hello? Uh…yes. Right, I'll be there in ten." He hung up and turned to Agasa and Shinichi "I just got a call about a case. Whatdya think Kudo? You up for one last case?"

"Do I really have a choice?" Heiji laughed at this remark as he patted the young detective on the head "Oh come on Kudo. It'll be great! Just think, a final meeting of the two Great Detectives!"

"Ugh" Shinichi groaned at the thought but nevertheless nodded in compliance. The three raced toward the Hattori's house, Heiji running at his maximum speed due to his overwhelming excitement while the other two trailed, rolling their eyes.


	11. One Last Case

_As they arrived at the Hattori Residence, Agasa elected to stay behind and rest. So Shinichi and Heiji jumped on his motorcycle and rode away. When they got to the scene, the police were circled around the body of a young woman in her mid-20's. She lay sprawled out on the hardwood floor with both arms at her sides and her legs close together. The police informed them that there had been no signs of forced entry, no blood anywhere in the house and only two other people were in the house at the time of the murder, the mother and the mother's recent love interest._

Heiji, with a bode of confidence approached the mother and began to question her

"So, Mrs. Kushida, are you divorced then?"

"No, my husband was killed in a tragic fire that also killed my eldest son" the wife muttered, showing signs of what appeared to be fabricated remorse

"And how long have been seeing this man?"

"About eight months. We met at an office party for the company we both work for"

"What do you two do exactly?"

"We work as marketing agents for a travel company"

"Was your daughter here visiting or did she live with you?"

"She was actually in training to become a floral designer. She had been in school for it the past three years. This was her first visit in almost a year."

"So was this the first time you two had met?" Heiji now turned to the boyfriend, who upon first glance appeared to be at least ten years younger than the woman he was with

"Yes. In fact, we decided to wait until she came here in person to formally introduce ourselves as a couple."

"Oh and how did she take that news?"

"She didn't like the idea at first, but after we went out to dinner and talked for a little while she began to warm up to me"

"Ma'am" Heiji turned back to the mother "Was this the first night your daughter stayed here?"

"No, she stayed here the night before this as well, but he had to work late so she didn't get to meet him until tonight"

After that Heiji thanked them for their compliance and turned back toward Shinichi.

"What do ya think?"

"Well, it's obvious that the woman was dragged her because of the position of her arms and legs. It is also clear that she was strangled from behind, look at the back of her neck"

"I see. There's a mark from the Velcro that was on the murderer's glove when the crime was committed."

"Right and judging by the temperature of the body this crime must have been committed in the last hour. And with no signs of forced entry it had to be one of the two people in the house"

"Right but Kudo" Heiji kneeled down and looked closely at the body "they both confirm one another's alibis. They were sleeping next to each other. How could one of them have gotten out of bed, murdered the girl, and gotten back into bed without waking the other up. And more importantly, look at the direction the body is laying" Shinichi stood for a second in deep thought until he finally said

"I understand. The body is facing with the head in the direction of the rest of the house. That means the murder either took place over there in the corner of this room, or."

"Or the body was planted there in order to make it seem like the murder took place on this side of the house" Heiji said, completing his counterpart's thought

"And aside from that" Shinichi now motioned toward the mark on the victim's neck "we still don't know what the killer used to strangle the victim" Heiji nodded at him then stood up, having analyzed the victim's neck with great detail

"Judging by the size of the mark left by the weapon and the lack of an overlap mark, I would have to say the weapon was most likely a small towel or washcloth. It would explain the Velcro mark too, see?" He grabbed a cloth off the counter which sat folded along with two other identical cloths. He then proceeded to wrap the cloth around the shrunken detectives neck "See, in order to fill in the space between the ends of the cloth, the killer had to put his or her hand against the victim's neck, pressing the front of their wrist to the skin, leaving the mark."

Shinichi nodded in agreement and thought to himself "So we know the method the killer used, but the questions still remains: how did they commit the crime without waking the one beside them, how did they leave no evidence of moving the body even though its position implies it was dragged, and what is that woman hiding from us?" Just as he finished his thought, Heiji beckoned him over toward the window.

"Look" he said, pointed outside the window toward an obvious hole in it "it looks like there's a crawlspace under the house that lets out right there"

"That can't just be a coincidence, look at the cracking along the outside of the hole. That had to have been made by a hammer or some other crude instrument."

The two detectives looked at each with a gleam of realization "I got it! I know how who the murderer is and how they were able to go undetected. I just need evidence." They thought in unison as they both dashed toward the mother's bedroom. When they entered the room they both smiled as they saw exactly what they had hoped to see. Now it was time to unmask the killer.


	12. We'll See Them Again

Heiji walked into the living room with a smirk of confidence on his face

"I would like everyone to gather here so I can reveal the identity of the murderer" as soon as he said this, the two suspects, the inspector on the case and the other policeman all gathered around Heiji.

"Now when I came to the scene the first thing I noticed was the odd position the body was in. It appeared to have been dragged there, and yet it faced toward the house, which means it was placed there deliberately. I also noticed that the size of the weapon used to commit the murder was equivalent to that of a washcloth, like the ones on the counter. It occurred to me that most cloths of that variety come in packs of four, and since three were left on the counter I assumed that the fourth was the weapon." Heiji then walked toward the window and pointed outside it

"And if you look outside this window inspector, you'll notice a hole about two meters in diameter on the wall" the inspector looked out the window and confirmed to the audience the presence of the hole. "Judging by the crackling along the outside of it, it can be inferred that the hole was made using a crude instrument"

"Oh, I can explain that" the man now stepped forward earnestly and motioned toward the victim's mother "she told me that she was seeing rats around the house, so I busted a hole in the wall so I could go into the crawlspace and check"

"I believe that. However that doesn't explain the trap door in that room" Heiji pointed to a spot on the floor just a short distance away from where the body laid. The room lit up in astonishment, while the mother suddenly turned gray with anxiety. "If you look closely" Heiji continued "you'll notice that all of the wood panels on this floor are parallel to one another. You'll also notice that they are all approximately two and a half meters in length and fifteen centimeters in width. If you look closely at the cracks here and here" "Heiji bent down and pointed to two cracks about one and one quarter meters away from one another "you'll notice they are significantly deeper than the rest. If we use" he quickly reached into the tool belt one of the officers was wearing and grabbed a screwdriver "something like this, we can see the truth behind this murder!" Heiji stabbed the screwdriver into the crack and pried the panel off the floor. Just as he had said, a door, approximately one and one quarter meters in length and width opened up and revealed an entrance to the crawlspace beneath the house.

"The killer" Heiji said as the room fell quiet "is you, Mrs. Kushida!" The mother, whose eyes were now wide with disbelief looked at the floor in front of her and screamed

"How can you say that, you have no evidence!"

"Yes, I do" the room once again turned its attention to the Great Western Detective as he grinned with assurance. "May I see your feet?"

"What?" the mother mumbled, aghast by the question

"Show me the bottom of your feet" At the moment she looked down toward her feet in total defeat. She knew as well as he did what was under them.

"She…" the mother whispered "was going to ruin everything". The people in the room now adjusted their gaze toward her "For years she had blamed me for the death of her brother. You see, when that fire started, I took the kids out of the house. They were only four and nine years old. When I realized my husband had not come out yet I feared the worst, but the flames had become so large there was no way to go back inside and look for him. My son screamed at me 'go save him 'kasan what if he dies!' Then he ran toward the house, and before I could reach him he entered. A few minutes after he went inside the fire department arrived, but neither my son nor my husband were recovered. My daughter has blamed me for their deaths ever since then, and even accused me of setting the fire myself." She fell to her knees and began to cry. "Since then I have had two boyfriends, one when my daughter was twelve and the other when she was eighteen. They were both run out by my daughter. She would tell stories of how I murdered my husband and my son and would abuse herself and blame me for it. When I asked her why she did this to me she said 'a woman that lets her husband and son die in a fire doesn't deserve anyone'. When she met him" she looked over at her lover with a smile as her stared at her in utter shock "I knew she would do the same thing to him as she had done the others. So I built that door under the floor and told him to check for rats so I'd have a way in and out of the room without leaving a trace of my presence. I came in through the hole on the wall and waited for her to come into the kitchen. When she turned her back to me I leapt out of the floor and choked her with the cloth I had planted on the counter previously. Then I laid her body down to appear as if it was dragged there and went back through the trap door. But, what gave me away?"

Heiji looked at her in both disgust and pity

"The window in your bedroom was open. When I checked the window sill I found bits of rock sediment that matched the sediment in the crawlspace." Heiji then turned to the inspector grimly "you should be able to find forensic evidence under the house." He ordered the forensic team to investigate and they were off. As the woman was handcuffed and led away, Heiji noticed the boyfriend crying by himself

"Don't feel any pity for her" he said coldly "a mother that murders her own child, regardless of motive, deserves no pity." With that Heiji motioned toward the door and Shinichi followed him out.

_After the case, Heiji and Shinichi returned home and went to sleep. The next day they were awakened by their girlfriends screaming at them that they had to get up. The flight Ran and Shinichi had scheduled was due to depart at 12:30 p.m, and it was currently 10:30 a.m. _

"Get up Aho!" Kazuha screamed at Heiji, not knowing that they had been out late the previous night dealing with a case

"Aho not so loud!" Heiji grumbled as he reluctantly left his bed.

"Heiji" Kazuha whimpered "They have to be at the airport in less than two hours! Who knows when the next time we'll see them is. Now hurry up we want to have lunch"

After a shower, the five of them left to go eat. They stopped at a sushi restaurant that Kazuha had recommended. They ate relatively quickly and then headed for the airport. When they arrived, Ran and Kazuha hugged each other with watery eyes and promised to talk often over the phone. Meanwhile, Heiji bent down to look at Shinichi at eye level

"Oi, Kudo, its kinda hard to say this but…you know I consider you a good friend of mine and well I…might sort of…miss you" Shinichi grinned at smacked Heiji hat over his eyes

"Oh come on don't be so emotional you sound like her" and he pointed to his girlfriend, who, in a flurry of emotions had lifted Ran off the ground and begun to squeeze the life out of her.

"Aho! I was only trying to be sincere for a moment." They both smiled and Heiji put his hand out to offer a hand shake that Shinichi accepted humbly.

"You better call and tell me about your cases" Shinichi said as he began to walk aside Agasa toward the terminal

"Oi, you too. I know you'll find some way to keep working" they both smiled. Heiji then turned to Kazuha and, with tremendous physical strain, pulled Ran out of Kazuha's grip. Ran smiled and hopped over toward Shinichi and Agasa and the three disappeared into the airport crowd.

"I'm really gonna miss them" Kazuha said with a tear streaming down her cheek

"Don't worry so much" Heiji said, now hugging her tightly "We'll see them again."


	13. Thank Goodness He Never Said That to Me

_As the three of them entered the terminal they heard the call for boarding (of course Heiji and Kazuha had managed to get them there just five minutes before their time of departure). So the two tiny teenagers said goodbye to there oldest friend, who, with a small tear in his eye hugged them and wished them luck. After the heartfelt goodbye the two children walked onto there plane as Agasa waved from the terminal. The flight was long and when the plane finally landed, both Ran and Shinichi were very excited to be on solid ground. For time sake they had scheduled a non-stop flight so they had been airborne for almost thirteen hours. When they got to the terminal at Los Angles International Airport they found no one there to greet them._

"Shinichi you did tell them what time we would be arriving right?"

"Of course I did, they're just late. They had better be here soon though" Meanwhile, at the current Kudo Residence an agitated Yusaku sat on the couch reading a newspaper while his wife continues to 'get ready'

"Yukiko! We're already late can you please hurry?"

"Okay, ready!" Yukiko strutted down the stairs, looking aesthetically prepared for a formal dinner

"All you need is a gown and we could go to the President's Ball" Yusaku chuckled much to the disdain of his wife

"Well excuse me for wanted to look nice, we are going to pick up our son and his girlfriend after all" 'But' Yusaku reflected his a smirk of amusement 'you act as if either one of them will care what you look like'

After four angry calls from Shinichi and thirty minutes of driving 95 miles an hour Yukiko and Yusaku arrived at the terminal.

"Finally" Shinichi said, rolling his eyes as he waved casually to his parents and bypassed them on the way out of the terminal. When he realized they weren't following him, he turned around only to see his mother admiring Ran's size and physical age

"You're so adorable! It's just like when you two were little all over again!" As she continued to rant and rave about the old days, Yusaku made his way over to his obviously tired and annoyed son

"Shinichi" he said, standing next to him, not making eye contact "your mother took over an hour to get ready so if you want her to cook dinner tonight, I suggest you compliment her appearance" he said this in a grave voice, fearing for his own sustenance as well. They waited a minute or so until Yukiko had finished analyzing Ran and began to walk toward them. The with a huge, exaggerated smile Shinichi exclaimed

"Obasan you look so much prettier than you usually do!" As he said this, both his father and his girlfriend fell over in disbelief. His mother, with a sudden look of ferocity lifted him up by the head and screamed

"Are you saying I don't usually look pretty? And who are you calling _Obsasan?_"

"No no sweetheart its nothing li-"

"Stay out of this Yusaku this doesn't concern you" Yusaku now stood with a grim look on his face as he awaited the storm which was sure to hit any second. She almost never called him by his first name. She usually called him something more gentle and sweet. As Yusaku began to quake in his shoes, Ran could only pinch the bridge of her nose in awe of Shinichi's complete lack of knowledge when it came to women. 'Thank goodness he never said that to me' she thought angrily 'or I might have had to use my Front Axe Kick on him'. Shorty after this thought, Yukiko calmed down but showed no signs of forgiving her son just yet. She marched angrily ahead while the other three walked cautiously behind her.

"Way to go Shinichi, we haven't been in America an hour yet and your mother is already angry at you" Shinichi opened his mouth to retort, and then realized he had absolutely no grounds to argue. As they drove home, Yukiko was maintaining a base speed about 130, looking enraged the entire time. Yusaku couldn't help but grip the safety handle above his seat and think to himself 'We can only hope she'll vent out all her rage here and be better when we reach the house'. Of course that was wishful thinking and when the reached the house Yukiko stomped in the door, gave here husband what seemed to be an obligatory kiss on the cheek and climbed up the stairs to their bedroom.

"Well" Yusaku said as he grinned merrily at the two children "it looks like we'll be getting take out for dinner" They all laughed at the remark heartily until Ran yawned loudly and murmured

"Kudo-san, where will we be sleeping?" Yusaku, seeing both of their fatigue said

"I prepared a room for each of you, but" he said as he smirked ear to ear "if you wish to share a room that would be acceptable as well. Let me show you where they are" He led them down the main hallway and pointed to either side "These are the two rooms. Get some sleep tonight, tomorrow we'll talk about getting you enrolled in an elementary school here." Ran and Shinichi grimaced at the thought of going to school, but then smiled at one another. They stood in the hallway undecided on their arrangements until Shinichi's father had gone up the stairs and closed the door.

"So, which room do you want?" Shinichi asked shyly

"Well I was kind of hoping that we cou-" before she could even complete her thought Shinichi took her by the hand and led into the bedroom on their right hand side. They threw down there luggage, which towered to almost their full height, and Shinichi jumped up onto the bed.

"Aren't you going to change clothes?" Ran asked, having hidden behind the door long enough to throw off what she had been wearing and change into a knee length nightgown which she and her mother had found among some of the other old clothes of hers they had stored away

"It's okay, I'm tired. It's no big deal" Ran smiled at him as he yawned and passed out. She hopped onto the bed and snuggled up beside him, thinking happily 'tomorrow we start our new lives'.


	14. Significant Differences

_The next morning, they were both woken up upsettingly early. Nevertheless they got up and were ready for the day before 7 a.m. When asked why they were forced to wake up so early, Yusaku only replied "We have a lot of things to do today". First they had to visit the elementary school they would be enrolling at. After they did that they went to see Ran's new karate dojo, and of course, the local police headquarters. Apparently, despite the unofficial nature of it, Yusaku was called in often as a consult on certain cases (much to the delight of Shinichi). Once all of this was done the Kudo parents took Ran and Shinichi on a detailed tour of the city, showing them all of the good restaurants, clothing stores, theatres and parks. They even took them by Disneyland, which, despite the age he looked, didn't interest Shinichi in the slightest. All of these stops made for a long day, and so around 8 p.m, the two mini-teenagers were already in bed, sound asleep. _

"Sweetheart" Yukiko whispered after peeking her head in the door to observe her son and his counterpart "is it okay that they're sleeping in the same bed like that? I mean it was okay when they were actually kids, but now they're teenagers in small bodies"

"It's fine. The fact is they are both mature enough to make that sort of decision now. And besides, they seem much happier when they are with one another" Yusaku replied, causing his wife to giggle madly

"Its just strange, we knew for so long that they would up marrying each other, but to see them together in the flesh, its just kind of surreal." Yusaku grinned at his wife lead her to their room.

The next morning, things went smoothly as the two brand new American elementary students were dropped at their new school with about twenty minutes to spare. They walked hand in hand up to the main entrance of the school and sought out their homeroom. Of course, it had been arranged for them to be in the same class, thanks to some sweet talk from Shinichi's international celebrity mother. When they reached the room, they walked in and saw a handful of students that had arrived early as well. They were all playing in groups of three or four. As they watched them played, they noticed a figure kneeling down just a few inches behind them

"Hi Kids! My name is Mrs. Applegate, and I'll be your teacher from now on!" Shinichi tried to hide his disdain at the teacher for her condescending attitude toward him. Of course this was nothing new to him, but for some reason this teacher was much worse than his Sensei back at Beika Primary School.

"Hello" Ran smiled politely, enjoying the teacher's amiable disposition

"So, how about we find you two some desks to sit in" As the two new Japanese students followed their very American teacher, they noticed something. Had she just been speaking Japanese? It hadn't even occurred to either of them that their whole interaction had taken place in Japanese.

"Mrs. Applegate" Shinichi said curiously "Are you fluent in Japanese?"

"Of course, why do you think you were both sent to my class? I am the only hexa-lingual teacher in all of Southern California. I used to teach four foreign languages at the University of Southern California" She said, smiling the entire time

"Really….." Shinichi said, laughing half heartedly.

"Indeed, I speak Spanish, English, Japanese, French, Cantonese and Polish. The first five I learned before I was twenty-one, Polish I learned because a few years ago I had a student that was a direct immigrant from Warsaw." Ran and Shinichi both stood in amazement as their seemingly normal teacher went on about how she was a prodigy in middle school and how she had a natural gift for learning different dialects.

"So then how many kids in this class are actually American born?" Ran asked, not noticing the filling classroom.

"Just six"

"Out of how many?" Ran asked, unaware that Shinichi had already turned around and begun to count the students

"Forty-six" Mrs. Applegate said, in unison with the Shinichi

"Your counting speed is impressive for your age" Mrs. Applegate said much to the discomfort of Shinichi

"Yeah Shinichi is really smart" Ran exclaimed with great enthusiasm as she sarcastically stared at him. As they took their seats and the teacher returned to front of the room to address the class, the two new students couldn't help but feel a swelling of anticipation as they began their schooling. They still had much to learn, not from their books or their school work, but from their new country and their new lives.

When the class let out for recess, Ran and Shinichi again walked hand in hand as they made their way to the playground. They suddenly noticed, however, a swarm of students encircling them saying various phrases in their native languages until one larger boy stood in front of them and grunted

"You speak English?" They looked at one another before responding

"Uh…yes, a little" Ran hesitated, intimidated by the boy size and demeanor

"Enough to play hide and seek?" he said, again sounding very dark and cold

"Mhm" Ran responded, purposely using as few words as possible

"Then it looks like you're it" he said as he poked Shinichi square in the chest. Ran smiled at the grimace he made

"Definitely!" she yelled as she ran away into the mass of children

"Count to twenty then come after us. Last one found wins" with this the large child and all the other children with disappeared into the schoolyard. 'It can't be helped' he thought calmly. He proceeded to count and then, to the dismay of the mob of children, found almost all of them within a few minutes. As they stood by the slide, which was the designated place for "found" kids to wait, they grumbled their grievances at one another, sharing stories of the "new kid cheated" and "that girl was helping him". Nevertheless, Shinichi continued to add to his pile of "found" kids until all had been sought and captured accept, of course, for Ran. This brought back a very specific memory for him. This situation had come to pass back when they were kids in Japan. She hid in a place that only he would have known, and, after he explained his deduction to her later, she claimed he was "always there for her" which brought a serious blush to his face. Now, as he stood on this American playground, in the same situation, he blushed crimson red at the thought of how much more truth those words held now than they did then. As he thought this, the large boy approached him

"Hey kid! You better find your friend, if you don't find her by the end of recess you gotta be "it" next recess too, that's the rules!" Snapping out of his train of thought, he refocused his efforts on the task at hand: finding Ran. Only four minutes remained in the recess period 'so' he contemplated 'where is she?' He scanned the remaining area of the school he had not checked, and noticed a ledge, covered by a school banner. He grinned, and walked steadily over to the ledge, both hands in his pockets. He reached one hand under the banner and felt a foot, which he grabbed tightly, causing a high pitched screech to explode from behind the banner. Ran jumped out with both fists at the ready, only to see a confident Shinichi standing before her with a smirk of confidence

"I'm always gonna find you" they both smiled and walked back toward the crowd of children, only to hear the bell for class ring. After school that day, they walked home enjoying the pleasant California weather.

"I didn't think it could get this warm in November" Shinichi said, puzzled by the illogical warmth of their new city.

"Hey, when I was the last one to find earlier did yo-"

"Think of the time back in primary school when I found you?" Shinichi replied with his eyes wandering around, looking at birds and houses and any object he could find to avoid Ran who was very blatantly staring at him "Yeah, the thought crossed my mind" As they continued to walk, silence fell on them until finally Ran broke the silence

"I believe you, ya know" she said shyly, focusing on her feet "when you said you would always find me" Now Shinichi face had taken on a red hue as they slowly worked their way towards eye contact with each other. When they finally did meet eyes, they both beamed with affection, clasping their hands together. It seemed like despite the similarities to the past, there were also some significant differences.


	15. Jealous of a Thirteen Year Old?

_After that incident, Elementary School seemed to go by rapidly. It felt like only a second and they were already in junior high. After a year of junior high, Shinichi finally came to notice what he had been waiting for since Ran had shrunk down to a child in the first place: she starting to become a woman. Their love hadn't dwindled despite their youthful appearances, however, now their relationship had an opportunity to take a new aspect. And what better time for it than the school dance._

Shinichi stood by his locker suspiciously, almost awkwardly as Ran walked by. They had different classes at the moment so she only waved and smiled as she passed him. Despite their brief interaction she was able to notice his unusual demeanor. He was not cool, calm or collected as he usually was, he looked; nervous. Shortly after passing him, a girl by the name of Serena Sebastian that had become her closest American companion ran up next to her

"Ran!" she shrieked, seemingly unaware of the people around them "What's up?"

"Uhh nothing" Ran said evasively "What about you?"

"Oh no you don't, something's goin' on with your little boyfriend huh?" Serena had a knack for deducing whether or not she had Shinichi on her mind. Of course Ran was as close to emotionally transparent as you can get so it wasn't too difficult.

"Well sort of. I just saw him a couple minutes ago and he looked strange, almost….nervous. But he's never nervous"

"Of course he's nervous dummy; tickets to the dance just went on sale he's probably planning on asking you!" As she said this Ran could only clench her fist, thinking 'We've been together for four years now, he better be asking me'. They both smiled as Ran tried to appear surprised. 'But' she thought as she entered her classroom 'if that is the reason, why is her so nervous? Does he think I'll say no?'

After school ended that day, Ran and Shinichi met to walk home as they always did and she tried to drop hints as to his feelings on the dance.

"Why would I want to go to a dance for twelve years olds? Really now, how could expect me to-"

"Well that's fine, I wouldn't have gone with you anyway" Ran yelled, trying to sound sarcastic but really she was deeply hurt by his lack of interest in it, and in her.

'Stupid' Shinichi thought to himself 'how could be that blunt? I should that old Mourii-san more credit, raising and lowering it is more difficult than it appears'. The rest of the way they conversed at no more than a superficial level, speaking with no substance and speaking only to avoid the awkward instances of silence. Through this whole venture, Shinichi played with the two tickets he had hidden away in his pocket.

The next day when they arrived at school Ran had lightened up a little bit so they exchanged a hug as they separated for their first class. When they met up at the morning break time, she approached him with a mischievous grin on her face

"Guess what?" she said conniving "I got asked to the dance."

"You what!" Shinichi roared in a momentary lapse of reason

"Keith in my last class asked me to the dance, and I said yes" She smiled arrogantly as she noticed Shinichi's face turn red and his neck tighten up.

"Well then it's a good thing I already bought two tickets so I guess I'll ask someone and see you there!"

"Fine!" As they split up, one walking in each opposite direction, she meditated on what he had just said

**~Flashback~**

"Well then it's a good thing I already bought two tickets so I guess I'll ask someone and see you there!"

And the other day

"Of course he's nervous dummy; tickets to the dance just went on sale he's probably planning on asking you!"

~**End Flashback~**

"Could he really have already bought tickets yesterday when we talked? No, why would he have acted like that if he planned on asking me to the dance?" she mumbled out loud to herself, earning her a few suspicious glances from her peers, mostly girls.

"How could she just go out with some guy? He's in middle school for goodness sake, it's legally a crime for her to be going out with someone that age" as he heard himself say "going out" in this particular context, he became bright red with rage and marched off to his classroom.

The next day the same cycle continued; every time Ran and Shinichi would bump into each other he would either shoot her daggers that she wrote off as unwarranted jealousy or they would exchange plastic manufactured smiles. The dance was at six o'clock that night, so as soon as they got home Yukiko prepared Ran's dress and make up so she would be there on time, totally unaware of the fact that she was not going with Shinichi. It only took Shinichi a few minutes to jump into the adolescent sized tux that his father had bought him, so he had plenty of time to think as he waited for Ran.

'This is stupid' he pondered 'why are we making a big deal out of this, it's a junior high dance. We're adults, we should be above these little games' As he thought that, Ran came down the stairs and, despite her age, looked magnificent to him. He hadn't been attracted to her in a physical sense for quite some time. Before that point they had both been to young to look attractive to the other. Cute, maybe, but not attractive. When she finally got to him, Shinichi was at a loss for words, much to Ran's amusement. Shinichi opened his mouth to talk when he heard a blasting from outside. It was Keith's mother, and she was there to pick up Ran.

"Okay Mr and Mrs. Kudo I'll see you tonight" she said from over her shoulder as she jogged out the door.

"What the-" Yukiko said in amazement "Did she just…"

"Yes 'kasan, she's going with another guy."

"Oh no she's not" she screamed, dragging Shinichi by the ear "You are going to go right into that gym and get her back right now!"

"Now honey" Yusaku whispered calmly "you know they won't learn anything if we force them to" Yukiko looked out the door furiously before releasing her son

"You're right" she muttered in defeat

"Can you drop me off at the gym now, I have to meet my date there" So his father drove him there, mostly because his mother marched up the stairs and into her room when he said he had gotten a different date. As Shinichi stepped out the door in front of the gym where the dance was being held, his father reached his head out the window and said with purpose

"I know what this is about. If you plan on getting her to come back to you out of jealousy, I think you should know this: a man will always cave in before a woman will." After that, he smiled and drove away.

When he entered the gym, somehow he felt a little out of place. He wasn't a fan of loud music or large crowds. This was not his idea of fun. "And worst of all, the only reason I bought the stupid tickets was to take her" he looked over at his girlfriend, who without his knowledge, had seen him walk in and begun dancing feverishly with her date. As he stared at her, swinging and moving about, he realized he had totally forgotten about his date. After a concise combing of the crowd, he found her surrounded by a number of singles that were all ready to lose a limb to dance with her. They met eyes and he smiled at her then walked away.

"Great" he said to himself, barely able to hear his words due to the thunderous sound of various techno and hip-hop songs "Now what am I supposed to do? I can't exactly make her jealous without a date, not that she would have been jealous of a twelve year old girl anyway. And yet, here I am jealous of a thirteen year old boy" As he continued to grumble aloud to himself, a familiar voice came from behind and whispered gently into his ear, somehow muting every other sound in that gymnasium

"Will you, dance with me Shinichi?" The way she said his name sent his heart into overdrive, making it beat a thousand times faster

"Y…Yeah" She took him by the hand and led him to the middle of the dance floor, where a beautiful, slow tempo song had just started. They stared into each other eyes as he took hold of her waist while she swung her arms over his neck "So, how was your night?" Shinichi asked hesitantly, selfishly fearing it might have actually been enjoyable for

"Awful, I spent all night waiting for you, and you never came to get me"

"Well you seemed kind of busy, I mean, you had a group of guys surrounding you"

"I'm sorry if I made you think I'd forgotten you. You were the one that asked me to the dance and so I'm yours for the night" Just a few yards away, Ran danced with her date and stared at Shinichi in utter fury. Her fists were clenched as they rested on Keith's neck, which he came to notice relatively quickly.

"If you're gonna stare at him all night you might as well just go get him" he said in a sweet yet unrefined manner

"No no its fine" she blurted out curtly. 'After all' she thought crossly 'It's not my job to go chasing after him.' As they continued to dance, Ran took Keith's hands and began to slide them further down her body, which, as expected, threw Shinichi into a frenzy

"That's it!" he roared ferociously as he ran toward Keith "I've had enough of this" as he said his he leapt into the air and, with all the force in his body, landed a kick directly to Keith's temple. Keith fell to the floor in shock and agony, as Shinichi clutched Ran's hand and dragged outside the school.

"Are you crazy?" She shouted half-heartedly, knowing full well that she had provoked him "He's just a kid, you can't just go around ki-" before she could finish Shinichi placed his hands on each side of her head and held her firmly

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't stand watching you two. I wanted to ask you to this stupid dance, but I lost my nerve and you went and found another guy." They stood staring deeply into one another's eyes, and, for the first time in their entire lives, despite the years of wishing for it, they kissed one another deeply. They were both captured in a moment of bliss and they soaked in every savory moment of it. Afterwards, Shinichi called for a ride and they waited outside together. After a few moments of silence they heard, faintly, the song that was playing inside. He knew it was a song she liked since he began to bob her head and enjoy its melody. He stood up slowly, with her hand in his and pulled her up. He turned to face her, placing his hands on her hips and began to sway their bodies back and forth. Feeling this, Ran preceded to move in unison with him.

"So" Ran whispered with her head pressed against his shoulder, almost unable to speak due to the tranquility of there dance "why didn't you just ask me?"

"I was trying to lower your expectations so it would be more exciting when I did ask you"

"You sound just like my dad" Ran snickered as she said this, knowing that Shinichi would be wearing an expression of pure dismay at the thought of being similar to the "Sleeping Kogoro". "But its okay" Ran continued, pecking him on the lips lightly "that's not always a bad thing" They both smiled at the sentiment and continued to dance outside until Yukiko and Yusaku eventually came to pick them up, about twenty minutes later as expected.

During the drive home Ran asked in a subtle voice as she stared out the window

"So, you were really jealous of a thirteen year old huh?" Shinichi blushed and blurted out

"No! I mean...sort of" This sent Ran into a spell of laughter which further irritated Shinichi "Shut up! Cut it out!" he screamed. As they continued to drive, the Kudo parents joined in Ran's hysterical laughter, while Shinichi simply crossed him arms and glared out the window with a sour grimace on his face.


	16. End

_Again, years passed. Ran and Shinichi grew older, in body and in bond. Together they remained, through junior high, high school and now, here they were graduates from college. Shinichi, of course, with a criminology degree and Ran a degree in kinesthesiology. They stood at the precipice of their lives, which could now begin where they had left off. But for that to happen they had to return to where there lives had started, Japan._

As they exited the terminal, they marveled at the site of the last place they had been in Japan. Despite what they had predicted fourteen years earlier, they had never actually returned to Japan, so to see a sign in Japanese again was quite a bit to take in.

"Here we are" Ran said quietly, holding a hand to her mouth anxiously "Why did we wait so long to come back?"

"I…I don't know. I guess we got caught up with life. That's the only explanation I can think of…." he replied, regretting the words as the came out

"I can't believe it, fourteen years since we've seen my mom and dad, or Sonoko, or Kazuha and Heiji or even Hakase!" Ran was now on the verge of tears as Shinichi took her in his arms

"We've kept in touch Ran so calm down. It's not as if we forgot them, and I don't think they forgot us either" the instant he said this, a host of familiar faces flooded the terminal, bringing the now grown woman to her knees. She wept loudly, but was abruptly interrupted by the swarm of friends and family that surrounded her. The first to embrace her was her mother, diving on her knees to meet her daughter with tears in her now aged eyes

"We've missed you so much Ran! It's so great to be able to see you again. A picture is not the same as your real face, in person"

"You've become so beautiful Ran" Kogoro said from over his wife's shoulder "just like your mother used to be" he grinned at his comment as his wife threw her elbow into his kneecap "Don't be senile woman!"

As a much expected argument ensued between the spouses, Ran threw her head around back and forth until she found Sonoko. Sonoko was now middle aged and accompanied by none other than Makoto-san. She had a single tear streaming down her still smooth cheek. As Ran bolted across the lobby to her Sonoko could only hold her arms open in acceptance. They squeezed either tightly, leaving no space between one another and maintained this position for quite some time as they rambled gibberish into one another's ears at what seemed to be hyper speed. Meanwhile, Shinichi stood back, smiling at the happiness of his girlfriend.

"This a good thing you did, Kudo" Shinichi turned to identify the speaker and saw a silhouette emerge from the shadowy corner of the terminal

"Hattori" was all he could verbalize

"That's all you have to say to me, Former Great Detective of the East?"

"What do you mean former?" he said both jokingly and curiously

"You didn't know? That little kid you used to associate with as Conan, Genta-kun, has become the most renowned detective Tokyo has ever seen. They even say he surpassed you, the one and only Kudo Shinichi"

"Really? Genta huh? Good, I might have to pay him a visit"

"Hey, hello? Did you forget about me? Jeez I come all the way out here from Madrid to come see you and here you can't even grace me with a 'How's your life been'? I haven't heard from you in almost four years. Last time we talked you had enrolled at George Washington University!"

"Sorry, I've just been-"

"Busy? I'm sure. You act like I've never heard that one before. Regardless, it's good to see you again. It makes me feel old seeing you" Heiji laughed briefly at his own sad realization, then continued

"So, how long do you plan to stay in Japan?"

"For good" Shinichi said concisely

"Really? Well good I bet this was mostly by neechan's prompting right?"

"For the most part. Of course, I wasn't opposed to the idea. It'll be good to get back to work with the Beika Police. What became of Sato-san and Takagi-san? Oh and what about Megure and Chiba?"

"Well" Heiji started, having to concentrate momentarily to recollect " Sato and Takago got married, moved to Osaka to work under my father at their police department. Since then, I believe Sato retired to raise their three kids while Takagi is a lieutenant."

"Really" Shinichi replied with a raised eyebrow "I didn't take Sato-san as the type to retire for the maternal life"

"Neither did anyone else. The last I heard of Chiba, he ran off with some girl that he had apparently been in love with since primary school. No one has seen or heard from him in about ten years now, who knows where he is. And Megure, well, he uh…he passed away about two years ago. He suffered a heart attack a few months after his official retirement"

Shinichi looked down at his feet. It was the first time the thought had dawned on him: everything really had changed since he was gone. He turned around and looked at the people he had once identified himself with: they had all matured greatly in age and in personality. As he scanned the crowd however, someone was missing. Where was Hakase?

"Hattori" Shinchi mumbled quietly "Where is Agasa?" Heiji ducked his eyes away, unable for a moment to look at his old friend.

"He…He died as well" Shinichi felt himself grow weak with grief as he fell against the wall nearest to him

"I just called him!" he screamed in painful sorrow "I just called a month ago, when did this happen? How did this happen?"

"You have to understand, when you left, he was already in his late fifties. He had grown very old, and especially with the active lifestyle he had, always running around with those ridiculous 'Detective Boys', it wore him down. He went peacefully, in his bed, with no look of pain or anguish on his face. He lived a long, happy life" Heiji's words, while sincere and encouraging, had little effect on Shinichi. He stared at his hands, shedding tears but making no noise whatsoever. He fell completely mute, only watching the tears fall into his hands. After he took a moment to compose himself, realizing that this was not the place to be so emotional, he wiped his eyes and looked back at Heiji. He had patiently waited until his friend's wave of remorse had passed.

"Are you okay?" he asked delicately

"I'll be okay. If he was happy, I should be too. Is there anything else I should know?" Heiji smiled wide with great pride

"Yeah, my WIFE Kahuza had twins. They are six years old now" Shinichi beamed with excitement as they shared a moment of much needed happiness.

"You say wife like I wasn't at your wedding"

"Sorry, I just like to brag about it" Heiji said, again smiling wide

"So have you asked her yet? You're old enough now"

"I plan to, tonight, at the Beika Center Building's Observatory Restaurant"

"Well good, you've been together fourteen years now, it's about time you popped the question" After a moment of silence, Shinichi finally said

"So, you moved to Europe huh?"

"Yep. All Kazuha's idea. Apparently Spain grew on her after we had our wedding and honeymoon there. It makes no difference to me, I could care less where we live as long as I'm invited"

_After another hour or so of conversation similar to this, Heiji and Shinichi met up with the rest of the group and they left the airport. Once they reached the Detective Agency where they were staying temporarily, Ran finally settled down long enough for Shinichi to put his plan into motion_

"Hey, its still early, how about we go out to dinner?" Shinichi asked eagerly

"But I wanted to stay and talk with mom and dad a bit longer. I haven't seen them in ages after all."

"Please? I promise, we will be back time for you to talk some more later" his voice now took on a more serious inflection

"Okay, if you really want to so badly"

_So Shinichi, after Ran had gotten ready, dragged her out the door hurriedly by her wrist and drove as fast as he could to the restaurant. Despite all of his odd and borderline frantic behavior, Ran was minimally suspicious of him and assumed it was nothing vital. When they reached the restaurant, Shinichi requested a specific table which was currently occupied. So they waited another forty-five minutes before they finally sat down to eat._

"You're really acting strangely now Shinichi? What's gotten into you?"

"What are you talking about? I just like the view from this table, it's not a big deal" Shinichi blurted out conspicuously. As the night went on, the drinks came and went, the entrees came and went and now the bill had come and Ran was prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Shinichi yelled as she began to rise from the table "Do you remember when I brought you here fifteen years ago?"

"You mean when you were still Conan?"

"Yes."

"Of course, you broke my heart that night. I cried for hours after we got home" she muttered to herself as she began to ponder the pain she had felt all those years ago

"Well" he continued "When I brought you there, I had something I needed to ask you"

"I remember" she said thoughtfully "you told me about this the when you told me about the drug that made you small, and the organization and all that. You told me that your dad had asked your mom to marry him here and so you were going to ask….me…." as the last words glided off her lips she noticed the box that Shinichi had pulled out of his coat.

"We've been together so long Ran, and now, we can finally start the life we always wanted to. Ran, will you marry me?"

"Oh my God yes! Yes! Of course I will" she shrieked, throwing herself into his arms, tackling him to the ground. They laid there for a few moments before standing up. As they rose to their feet they noticed every patron of the restaurant was on their feet in applause. They had waited so long for this, and now, in front of hundreds of people they kissed, in full realization of the trials they had faced to reach that point. So many years, fights, cases, tears, screams, whispers and (for Kogoro exclusively) beers. The journey they shared was long and arduous, but the bliss they both experienced in that moment made every second of hardship in either of their lives melt away. They released from one another's lips for a moment just to lock eyes. At that moment nothing else existed and they locked lips again, they knew nothing else had to.

**The End**

Now, I'd like to open the floor to cumulative reviews. Was the ending sappy? Yes. Did I plan it that way? Yes.


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